Health Promotion and WellnessFriday Facts

NMCPHC | 620 John Paul Jones Circle, Suite 1100 | Portsmouth, VA 23708-2103 | www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil

March 27, 2015

CREWS INTO SHAPE CHALLENGE ENDS 28 MARCH

Congratulations to all of the 2015 Crews Into Shape Crew Leaders and Crewsers! Hopefully you have established some new, healthy habits. This is just the beginning of a healthier lifestyle, so keep it up!

If you haven’t already done so, be sure to choose a local health-related event to participate in with your team sometime between April and June. Committing now to participate in a follow up event will earn your Crew an additional 20 points!

Please remember to submit your feedback on the challenge by 7 April. This anonymous survey consisting of 10 questions will help us to improve future Crews Into Shape Challenges, so they can be the best possible experience for participants. Also, Crew Leaders, be sure to email your completed worksheet to NMCPHC by 7 April.

NMCPHC LAUNCHES WEIGHT MANAGEMENT SUB-CAMPAIGN!

The NMCPHC HPW Department launched a new weight management sub-campaign providing tools and materials on reaching and maintaining a healthy weight for clinicians and health promoters to use with their patients, as well as for service members and DoD beneficiaries to use for themselves.

Weight management has many personal and professional benefits, including improved overall health, chronic disease prevention, enhanced performance, and increased resilience. It breaks the endless cycle of failed diets, and replaces it with a sustainable healthy lifestyle. The new weight management sub-campaign can be viewed at: www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/health-promotion/weight-management/Pages/default.aspx.

CONTENTS

• Crews Into Shape Challenge Ends 28 March

• NMCPHC Launches Weight Management Sub-campaign!

• 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Now Open for Public Review and Comment

• Digging in the Dirt – Gardening for Exercise

• Teach Yourself to Meditate Mindfully

• Blue H News: Sexual Health Films Now on SWANK

• March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

• Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) Upcoming Webinars

• Sleep and Wellness Resources

• In The News

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2015 DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS NOW OPEN FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENTS

The “Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee” (Advisory Report) is now open for public review and comment. The period for written comments has been extended from April 8, 2015 to May 8, 2015. This extension will be announced in the Federal Register in the coming weeks. To read the Advisory Report and submit your comments, visit DietaryGuidelines.gov.

The DHHS and USDA will use the Advisory Report along with input from federal agencies and public comments to develop the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. DHHS and USDA will release the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015 by end of the year.

DIGGING IN THE DIRT – GARDENING FOR EXERCISE

Gardening can burn an average of 300 calories per hour and is an effective form of resistance training. Most people say they garden for the fun of it. However, according to the experts, moderate-intensity exercises such as gardening and walking, done most days of the week, provide a sufficient amount of physical activity to lower your risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Whether your goal is a manicured lawn or to be able to walk out your back door and pick the vegetables for dinner, there are a number of books in your local library and bookstore that can tell you what and how to plant and how to feed and maintain your garden or yard. Once that step is done, you can focus on getting both you and the ground in shape.

Gardening is an activity that feeds the mind. So get outdoors, breathe fresh air, feel creative, tone your muscles and cleanse your thoughts. You’re sure to reap the boundless rewards offered by the sight of the first blooms, or the taste of the vine-ripened vegetables you’ve nurtured to maturity.

• Full Article-- Digging in the Dirt: www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/Documents/health-promotion-wellness/active-living/cardio-fitness/Diggin-in-the-Dirt.pdf

• NMPCHC Active Living Website: www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/health-promotion/active-living/Pages/active-living.aspx

• NMCPHC July Toolbox (Fruits & Vegetables Month): www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/health-promotion/Pages/hp-toolbox-july.aspx

TEACH YOURSELF TO MEDITATE MINDFULLY

Mindfulness meditation is a popular form of meditation that helps treat various psychological health concerns – and it has clinical evidence to show that it works. Although there are many programs led by certified instructors to teach you mindfulness meditation, you can also try the practice on your own.

Go to: http://www.dcoe.mil/blog/15-03-18/Teach_Yourself_to_Meditate_Mindfully.aspx to read an article on practice of mindfulness. This article is the second article in a series from the Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) that focuses on programs and therapies proven to help improve psychological health and overall well-being.

You can find additional resources to use to practice mindfulness meditation in the Relax Relax Toolkit from the NMCPHC, HPW Dept. at: http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/health-promotion/psychological-emotional-wellbeing/relax-relax/pages/index.html.

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BLUE H NEWS: SEXUAL HEALTH FILMS NOW ON SWANK

By using SWANK, Navy Medicine’s web-based training portal, Navy Medical Treatment Facilities (MTF) can now track the number of staff members that viewed the SHARP sexual health films - and use these data to earn Blue H Award points.

There is a Blue H Award criterion that asks “Have at least 25% of your MILITARY members viewed the Navy film “Reproductive Health - Types of Contraception” (2012) OR “Pregnancy and Parenting: Think Ahead” (2013) and another criterion that asks “Have at least 25% of your MILITARY members viewed the Navy film “HIV and Me”. These videos now stream through SWANK.

IF - and only if - your MTF uses SWANK to “assign” one (or more) of the sexual health films to military MTF staff members, the SWANK manager at the MTF (usually staff education and training department) can track who watched the film.

Check out SWANK at: https://navy.swankhealth.com/default.aspx

The sexual health films may be viewed on SWANK by selecting NAVY MEDICINE TRAINING, then SPECIAL under the heading NAVY MEDICINE. There you’ll see links to these films:

• “Charting a Safe Course: A Sexual Health Guide”- 1NMETC-15-SEXHG • “HIV and Me”- NMETC-15-HIV.ME • “Parenting and Pregnancy: Thinking Ahead”- NMETC-15-PRGNY • “Reproductive Health Awareness: Types of Contraception”- NMETC-15-RHACON

MARCH IS BRAIN INJURY AWARENESS MONTH

To bring recognition to this topic, the following resources are available:

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC): www.cdc.gov/headsup/ • DCoE: www.dcoe.mil/blog/15-03-02/6_Brain_Injury_Websites_to_Bookmark_this_March.aspx• Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC): http://dvbic.dcoe.mil/• NMCPHC, Wounded, Ill, and Injured TBI Resources: www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/health-promotion/Pages/Wii-tbi.aspx• TRICARE: www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/BenefitUpdates/Archives/03_25_15_BrainInjury.aspx

DEFENSE CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (DCOE) UPCOMING WEBINARSDCoE hosts monthly webinars to provide information and facilitate discussion on a variety of topics related to psychological health and traumatic brain injury. The webinars are open to the public, and many provide continuing education. Visit the DCoE Monthly Webinars Web page for more information.

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SLEEP AND WELLNESS RESOURCES

Sleep continues to be an important and relevant health promotion and wellness topic. Deployments and the stressors of everyday life can affect a person’s sleep. Trouble falling asleep, awakening too early, or feeling tired after awakening are some common sleep issues people can face. The Afterdeployment.org website has tools and exercises that can help a person sleep better including sleep assessments, sleep forums, and interviews with those who are experiencing challenges with sleep. The website also houses a sleep library and other sleep resources. It is not uncommon for people to have trouble turning off their thoughts when they go to bed. The HPW Department offers sleep resources including the bedside thought organizer. This resource can help a person identify stressors and negative thoughts so they can effectively address and manage these stressors to help manage sleep challenges. Visit the HPW Department’s Sleep Web page and the Sleep for Wounded, Ill, and Injured Web page for additional sleep resources.

IN THE NEWS

Our sleep-deprived military culture: What you can do about it - Health.mil

Tackling TBI through Technology - Health.mil

Initiative Highlights Military TBI - DCoE Blog

Concussions and Sleep Disorders Closely Linked - Health.mil

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